


Somewhere Only We Know

by Magentas_Nightmare



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adult Content, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-28 01:50:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14438907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magentas_Nightmare/pseuds/Magentas_Nightmare
Summary: Merle picks up a girl in California at a truck stop who is down on her luck and in need of some human kindness; they embark on a journey together across the US that will change both of their lives...





	1. The Last Good Man On Earth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KrissyG927](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrissyG927/gifts).



> This story is a departure from The Murder of Juno Ferguson in that it is very simple and low plot. This story is fluffy and angsty and sweet (with smut because it's a Magenta's Nightmare story. LOL)   
> The story is only really about two people finding that they fit together like they didn't know possible:)   
> Thanks for reading:)  
> xoxo

_ **Chapter 1 - The Last Good Man On Earth** _

_**I walked across an empty land** _

_**I knew the pathway like the back of my hand** _

_**I felt the earth beneath my feet** _

_**Sat by the river and it made me complete** _

**/**

The weather was unusually cool for the desert, but sometimes it got that way in California at night. Merle had dropped off his delivery at the warehouse and was a free man with no trailer on the back of his semi for the first time in weeks. San Bernadino was the last stop for him, and now he'd be tracking all the way back across the country to South Carolina. It was another brutally long run, but this was his life, and for the most part, he loved it. He had started out with different plans, he had wanted to settle down and maybe raise a family, but driving had taken over his life somehow.

Merle Dixon watched as a small lizard scurried around some decorative rocks outside the window of a truck stop. The lizard was in search of warmth and Merle kept his eyes on it as he waited for his coffee. His life revolved around coffee and the ever-unwinding road ahead, but it was all he knew.

"Here ya go," the man behind the counter said as he set down Merle's freshly filled thermos.

"Thanks, man."

"Long night?" the man quipped as Merle yawned and took a sip of the wake-up juice.

"They're all long," he chuckled.

"Hey! I told you to get the hell out of here!" the man screamed over Merle's head and it startled him out of his sleepy state instantly.

He turned to see the object of the man's vitriol, and it was only a girl; Merle didn't understand it.

The girl said nothing and simply turned to walk out the door. She was homeless from the looks of it, with a backpack on her back and a cardboard sign in her hand. Merle saw a lot of people like her in a day, and he picked many of them up when they needed a ride somewhere. None of his trucker friends would do it but Merle had a good eye for the ones he should avoid, and he liked the company.

"Is she trouble or something?" Merle asked.

"Just another filthy homeless broad," the man shrugged. "It's bad for business to have her hanging around here."

"Is she hitchhiking?" Merle asked.

"Yeah, stupid if you ask me. Nobody's gonna let her flea-bitten ass in their car anyway," the man laughed.

Merle sighed and walked out of the truck stop to find the girl sitting on a bench. He couldn't wrap his head around the man's anger toward her; she was just a young woman down on her luck by Merle's estimation. She was holding her sign as the lizard from earlier sat staring up at her. Long dyed black hair hung around her face as she looked down at her shoes. Her face was painted with dark eyeliner, black lashes, and burgundy lipstick. The sign said it all; she was desperate.

 

**Heading east as far as you can take me**

**PLEASE HELP**

 

She looked about 20 years old: dirty, hungry and tired.

"I'm going east," he said.

The young woman looked up at him like she had been all out of hope until he spoke.

"Are you saying I can come with you?" she asked.

"Yeah, come on," he nodded, and she gathered up her things to follow him to the truck.

"Thank you so much."

"It's nothing," he insisted and opened the passenger door for her to climb up into the cab.

"My name is Summer," she said when he got into the driver's seat and fired up the rig.

"Merle Dixon."

He wasn't sure what to expect with her, so he stayed quiet, to begin with, she could be a crazy woman, so he had to feel her out a little. He plugged in his iPhone for some music and found that she was staring into the sleeper of his truck.

"Never seen a decent sleeper before?" he smiled.

"You have a bed in here?" she exclaimed.

Merle had worked hard on his truck; it was also his home, so he wanted it to be nice. He had a bed, a fridge, a TV and even a small sink in his truck and it suited him just fine. He turned on the interior light in the back so she could see it all and he insisted she have a better look.

"I live in here, so I wanted it to be comfortable."

"You have no home?"

"Nope. Gave up my apartment a while back cause I'm never there anyway. Thirty years old with nothing but a truck to call home. Sad, huh?"

"It's really nice," she grinned, running her hand over the quilt on the bed.

Eventually, she came back to sit next to him, and he pulled out onto the highway.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I want to go all the way to Huntsville, Alabama but as far as you can take me is fine," she answered.

"I'm headed to South Carolina, so if you can stand my mug for that long I'll take you all the way," he said.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yeah. It's nothing; I do this a lot."

"Thank you. I was having no luck getting a ride...not that it's surprising. I wouldn't give me a ride either," she sighed.

"Having a tough time, hey?" he asked.

He was sure to get her story throughout the journey so why not start early? It was like listening to a podcast having a stranger next to him for hours on end. He heard so many stories, and many of them were sadly similar.

"It's been a hard year, but I'm surviving," she smiled.

"You from Alabama originally?"

"Yeah, Birmingham. My dad is in Huntsville as far as I know, so I'm going to see if he can help me out a little...I haven't seen him since I was eight, but I've run out of places to turn. I found his name and number online, but I haven't had the guts to call yet. I'm sorry, you don't need to listen to my shit," she said.

"I asked, didn't I?" he retorted.

"I guess so."

"It helps keep me awake so ramble all you want," he chuckled.

She told him about running away to California with a boyfriend who immediately dumped her and left her on the streets where she had to do what it took to survive. Summer had been on the streets for over a year trying to make it work and was now attempting to start over with the help of her last known relative. She had the same story he'd heard a hundred times before. She had a mother and a nasty step-father who couldn't keep his hands to himself, just another young runaway who had been betrayed by those who were supposed to protect her. Witnessing her being treated like vermin by the man at the truck stop hit him hard. It was so dehumanizing, and it made Merle feel sorry for her, he just couldn't leave her sitting there on that bench.

"If I could just get a roof over my head for a while maybe I could get my life straight. I'm exhausted trying to stay alive on the road," she sighed.

"Must be a rough life," he noted.

"It's hell. I'd give anything to just have a permanent, stable home," she said wistfully.

"If you're tired you can have a sleep back there," he offered.

"I shouldn't," she shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Your bed is nice and clean, and I'm...filthy. I didn't have any money left for the pay shower at the truck stop," she explained.

Merle had only put on a few miles, but he needed to stop again if they were going to be traveling the entire way together. This girl needed food and a shower and then some sleep, so he pulled into the next truck stop.

"Oh...do I smell that bad?" she winced. "Are you letting me out?"

"You smell fine, Summer, but you'd obviously feel happier with a shower so come on," he said, turning off the truck and opening the door to get out.

"But-"

"I'm paying, come on," he insisted.

Merle walked her to the bathroom area and handed her coins for the shower.

"This place is full of creeps so I'll wait right out here and you scream if anyone bothers you, alright?"

"I don't even know what to say."

"It's no big deal, just go on," he said with a smile.

Maybe he was a little addicted to playing hero for her already but it made him feel good, and he certainly wasn't hurting anyone.

/

Summer looked like a whole different girl when she came back out, and she thanked him again profusely. Her black hair was in a ponytail now; she had a clean pair of leggings on and a clean hoodie. Apparently, she had found a place to do laundry recently and had a few clean things in her backpack. The makeup was gone, and he could see how beautiful she was without it.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Like a million dollars," she sighed.

Merle walked into the diner/gas station and ordered them both submarine sandwiches; the girl needed some food in her belly before he could get some miles behind him.

"Do you mind eating in the truck?"

"It's fine with me...I haven't had proper food for days."

Merle bought juice, cookies, some cut up fruit and veggies and could sense her mouth watering with every new item he placed on the counter, she was apparently starving. Truck stops had gotten better over the years and finally served some real food as well as greasy crap. He blew a hundred bucks on food and knew that she'd be eating most of it, she looked like she could use it. Merle made fantastic money, driving long haul, and had almost no expenses, so he was happy to spend a little on the girl, it would be good for his karma if nothing else.

"I can't repay you for any of this," she said softly as they climbed back into the truck.

"I didn't ask for any money," he reminded her.

Merle went to the back of the truck to unpack the groceries into the fridge and noticed that she was suddenly next to him.

"There are other ways I could repay you," she said, and his blood ran cold as he felt her hand on his thigh.

"No, Summer, I don't need you to pay me back at all. That's not why I'm helping you."

He knew that she was asking because it was probably expected of her when men showed kindness and it made him hate the world. She was confused at his refusal to accept a blowjob as payment, and that was very sad to him.

"Are you religious?" she asked.

"No. I'm just helping you cause you need help, that's it."

It was apparent that she couldn't process anyone helping her for no reason, and he wanted to show her that the world still had goodness in it.

"This feels like a trick," she said.

"It's not. I'm not trying to fuck you, or con you, or kill you. I just want to help."

"Are you the last good man on Earth?" she smiled.

"Maybe I am."

 


	2. A Pretty Name for a Pretty Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter is "Crawling Back to You" by Tom Petty, it's SUCH a good song.  
> Thanks for reading! xoxo

_**Chapter 2 - A Pretty Name for a Pretty Girl** _

_**Oh, simple thing where have you gone?** _

_**I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on** _

_**So tell me when you're gonna let me in** _

_**I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin** _

_**/** _

Merle sat next to Summer in the sleeper of the truck to eat, and she downed the footlong sub so fast he could hardly believe it.

"Sorry, I'm eating like a pig," she shrugged.

"No worries, you obviously needed it," he said, handing her a bottle of juice to wash it down.

"You know...this is the happiest moment for me in the whole last year, probably longer."

"Really?" he asked.

It was very sad to him that such a simple thing could mean so much to her. This young woman deserved more joy in life than a sandwich in the back of a truck.

Merle was heading back to South Carolina without a delivery, he was just racing back to pick up the next job, but nothing was planned yet. It was in that moment that he decided to slow things down. Maybe he could take a little time to lift her spirits, to show her that not everyone was an asshole who wanted to take advantage of her.

"How much of a rush are you in to get to Huntsville?" he asked.

"I haven't seen my dad in years, so I guess there's no rush, he doesn't even know I'm coming. Why?"

"I don't need to get back to South Carolina in any specific timeframe, so maybe we could take a long way there and see some sights...is that stupid?"

He was awaiting an answer when he noticed a few tears roll silently down Summer's cheeks; he had no idea what the problem was. Merle was never one for relationships, and beyond the occasional quick fuck in a truckstop motel, he was no expert on women.

"What's wrong? I can drive straight through if you prefer-"

"You saw the way that guy spoke to me, right? The guy where you picked me up?"

"Yeah, he was a prick."

"Almost everyone talks to me like that now. I'm like a rat that snuck in, and they have to get me out as soon as possible. It's been months since anyone has even smiled at me and now...you actually want to spend time with me?"

"I haven't slowed down in a long time, and I thought maybe it could be fun."

"Where have you been all my life?" she smiled.

"Here and there, honey. Where have you been?" he chuckled.

Merle rolled his eyes and grinned at her; she looked pretty without all the makeup on.

"So you in then?" he asked.

"I'm in."

"Why don't you get some sleep and I'll get back to the road," he suggested.

"A real bed," she sighed. "This has to be a dream."

/

Merle headed east as she curled up in his bed behind him. He'd had a lot of strangers in his truck, but he never let anyone in his bed before. It was probably seeing the way she had been screamed at in the truck stop that did it. He couldn't think of anyone else in society who could openly be treated that way without scrutiny; it was wrong.

He decided that if he got his ass moving Summer could wake up at the Grand Canyon. He had been there multiple times, and it never got old so if she had been there before she'd likely still enjoy it.

There was something about her that made him want to make her happy, and it dawned on him that he was attracted to her. She wasn't that much younger if he had to guess and she seemed sweet and grateful. Some of the people he picked up tried to take advantage of his kindness, but he knew she wasn't the type to play those games.

He turned on some tunes to keep motivated and looked back at her sleeping in the rearview; he was definitely attracted to her. He wanted to know her natural hair color and everything else about her. The music didn't wake her at all; she had probably slept in some awful places, so he let it play as his mind wandered.  


_**Waiting by the side of the road** _

_**For day to break so, we could go** _

_**Down into Los Angeles** _

_**With dirty hands and worn out knees** _

  


_**Ooooh I keep, crawling back to you** _

_**Ooooh I keep crawling back to you** _

  


_**The ranger came with burning eyes** _

_**The chambermaid awoke surprised** _

_**Thought she'd seen the last of him** _

_**She shook her head and let him in** _

  


_**Hey, baby, there's something in your eyes** _

_**Tryin' to say to me** _

_**That I'm gonna be alright if I believe in you** _

_**It's all I want to do** _

  


_**I'm so tired of being tired** _

_**Sure as night will follow day** _

_**Most things I worry about** _

_**Never happen anyway** _

  


_**Ooooh I keep crawling back to you** _

_**Ooooh I keep crawling back to you** _

 

The road was long as always, and he questioned if he was losing it to be acting so flighty but he wanted to see her face when she woke up, he wanted to make her smile.

/

Six and a half hours after leaving San Bernadino the sun began to rise, and he pulled up outside the gate to the Grand Canyon National Park to wait for them to open for the day. The parking lot was empty, it was only 6 am, but they'd be open by 8 am.

Summer was still sleeping, and so he lay back the driver's seat to catch some rest too. He hadn't slept properly in a good twenty-four hours but a few more hours awake wouldn't kill him. Maybe he'd stop for a whole night and get them a hotel room. The idea of taking a little break was starting to sound better and better, and it was a bonus to have company. Merle never took holidays unless he was going back home to see his brother. He hadn't stopped to see Daryl, Carol, and Sophia in a while, so he added it mentally to his to-do list. He'd have to take Sophia fishing again; his little tomboy niece loved fishing with Uncle Merle.

/

"Merle?"

The sun was beating down on his face, and he heard a voice above him. Merle cleared his throat and opened his eyes to see Summer staring out the front windshield of the truck.

"Where are we?"

"Have you ever been to The Grand Canyon?" he asked.

"No...is that where we are?"

"Yep."

Summer looked back at him, and her face looked like he had taken her to Disneyland.

"Can we really go see it?"

"Yeah, what time is it?" he groaned, looking down at his phone for the time.

It was 10 am so they were definitely open.

"You never seen anything like the skywalk," he grinned. "It's got a 4-inch glass floor hanging 3600 feet over the canyon."

"Merle...I swear I have nothing, not a single penny to my name," she winced.

"I'm more than financially comfortable," he assured her. "I just thought you'd like this."

Merle had so much money saved from over a decade on the road that it ceased to mean anything to him. He wasn't even sure how to spend it all. Maybe he should have tried to settle by then, but it already felt like a far-off dream. He was used to being alone, and the road kept calling him on.

"I'm so excited," she squealed. "Thank you, Merle."

"Have something to eat and then you can have a look at the most amazing sight you ever saw."

They had a quick breakfast in the truck, and then he walked her up to the front counter to pay entry to the park. Summer fidgeted with her hair and pulled at her sweater as she waited.

"You look fine," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Of course. Come on, beautiful."

The park was huge, and there was so much to see that he could tell she was a little overwhelmed. He liked that, and he wanted to do more for her the more she smiled.

"Did you go on family trips as a kid much?" he asked.

"Never with my parents, they divorced when I was 8. A friend's parents took me along on a camping trip once. My home life wasn't very good as a child."

"Mine neither. I like to stop when I can to see all the things I missed out on as a kid. I'm normally alone when I do stop, and that's not as much fun, so I'm glad you're here."

She looked up at him with a wide grin and then shook her head as if in disbelief.

"You're too much," she sighed.

He wasn't usually too scared of heights, but 3600 feet was no joke, and it had left him a little afraid to go all the way out to the end the first time.

The sky was bright and blue without a cloud in sight as they walked out to the beginning of the U-shaped bridge.

"It's thick glass, you said?"

"You scared of heights?"

"I've never been up so high," she smiled. "I don't even know."

Merle reached for her hand and walked her out all the way to the end and almost laughed at how tightly she was squeezing his hand back by the time they got there.

The canyon could leave the most hardened man breathless and awe-struck, and it never lost it's magic for Merle. The layers of the past captured in endless rock formations before them seemed to go on forever. It was enough to make you question your beliefs, the power of nature, and leave you feeling so small in the grand scheme of the world.

"It's...I can't even put it into words," she whispered. "It's just beautiful."

Merle looked over at her black hair blowing in the wind and the wide-eyed expression on her face and couldn't agree more.

"Beautiful."

Summer spent over an hour walking from one end of the skywalk to the other, sitting down on the glass, laying on her belly to look down at the canyon floor and staring out over the edge. Merle had never seen anyone enjoy it more and knew it was more than worth the long drive.

/

Merle wanted to remember the day, so he asked a stranger to take their picture overlooking the canyon in the late afternoon. He took advantage of the situation just enough to lay his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned her cheek against his chest in response. It was easy to feel comfortable around her, and that was new for him.

"This was a perfect day," she said, and he agreed wholeheartedly.

Merle couldn't have a relationship with Summer, not with his job, but it was going to be a blast to spend some time with her on the way to Alabama. He couldn't be with anyone with his job being what it was, but maybe he could stop in to see her sometimes when she got settled in Huntsville.

He took her to a restaurant after an entire day exploring the park, and she was bubbly with excited energy.

"I've been up for ages, and I could really use a good night's sleep before we leave here," he said, trying to introduce the idea of staying in a hotel with some tact.

"Of course," she smiled. "You sleep in your bed, and I can sleep in the front seat. I'm excited just to sleep with a roof over my head."

"I thought maybe we could both sleep in a bed. I was going to get a room in a hotel for the night if that's OK with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they got a nice hotel right down the road from the park. I can get a double room, and you can stretch out on your own bed for a night," he smiled.

She seemed immediately triggered by something he said; he had a feeling that her triggers were many.

"I don't deserve any of this...I'm not as innocent as I might appear."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've done things for food and money that I shouldn't have."

"Surviving doesn't make you less innocent, Summer."

"I've slept with people for food, Merle," she whispered.

"Hell, I don't care about nothin' like that."

"There's something else you should know," she said.

"Your name ain't Summer?" he chuckled.

"How did you know?"

"You ain't the only girl to change her name on the street. I've met a couple of Summers, a few Destinys, and more than one girl named Candy."

"My real name is Robin."

"That's a nice name. Why do you go by Summer?"

She pushed food around on her plate for a minute as she worked out how to answer a question she hadn't really answered for herself yet.

"I guess it's easier to pretend the things that happen to me are happening to someone else if I don't use my name. One of the first creeps I came across called my name as he was..." she shuddered and didn't finish the thought, "it gave me the chills."

"That makes a lot of sense actually. What do you want me to call you?"

"Robin," she smiled.

"It's a pretty name for a pretty girl," he said, and her face lit up like nobody had ever told her that, perhaps nobody ever had.

 


	3. Wanna Cuddle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slow burn but it's only 9 chapters long so the wait won't be too crazy. lol

_ **Chapter 3 – Wanna Cuddle?** _

_**I came across a fallen tree** _

_**I felt the branches of it looking at me** _

_**Is this the place we used to love?** _

_**Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?** _

_**/** _

They drove to The Grand Canyon Plaza where Merle had stayed a few times before and Robin didn't seem to believe the place was real.

"I'm gonna get us a room if you want to wait for me in the lobby," he suggested, and Robin sat in the beautiful sitting area next to a grand fireplace.

Merle booked the best room they had so they'd each have a queen-sized bed and he needed to soak in the jacuzzi in the worst way. He got sore and stiff from days of sitting in the truck, and nothing eased his back like hot water. He paid for the room and took the key back to where she was sitting and staring at the fire.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, carrying her backpack and following behind him.

The room was beautiful and had a view of a pool three floors below where families were having a good time.

"I've never been in a room like this," she grinned.

"Glad ya like it. Which bed do you want?"

"I'd sleep on the floor," she beamed. "I don't care which bed."

"You're easy to please," he laughed. "Do you mind if I have a soak? My back gets damn sore from all the driving."

"Of course," she insisted. "Hope you feel better."

The jacuzzi tub was huge and deep, and he couldn't wait to crack a beer and soak for an hour.

"I'm gonna order room service; I need a drink. What's your poison?"

"Anything."

"Come on. I know ladies like specific drinks, you don't need to be so obliging all the time," he pressed.

"Jack and Coke with a lime."

"There ya go," he winked.

"I'll be in the bathroom so I'll leave cash on the table if you don't mind paying the guy when he comes."

"Sure."

"Do you need the toilet? Cause I'll be a while."

"I'm good."

/

Merle stripped off his clothes slowly and grabbed a few fresh white towels from the rack before getting the water running. He found some bath salt and bath foam on the counter and poured it into the water for good measure.

He stepped into the water and steam rose up around his legs, and he groaned to himself as he sat down and damn near burned his balls. Merle hissed and stretched out to the full length of the tub as he heard the knock at the front door. He started to wish he had waited for his drink before getting in the tub, it would be nice to drink it in the bath, but then he heard a knock at the bathroom door and grinned to himself.

"Do you want your drink while it's cold?" she asked in a raised voice through the door.

"If you don't mind!" he yelled back.

Robin walked in and set the drink on the edge of the tub and unapologetically let her eyes wander over his body. Merle was in the shape of his life even though he was on the road so much. He took the time he needed to go for a quick run here and there and kept weights in the sleeper of his truck. She wasn't shy about taking in an eyeful, and he liked that about her.

"Sorry," she shrugged when it became evident that she was gawking.

"Hey, I don't mind," he chuckled. "Look all ya like."

"You're in amazing shape," she uttered, still staring but now her eyes seemed focused below the water. "How old are you anyway?"

"Thirty this year, and you?"

"Twenty-one."

"I was close, I guessed twenty....you stayin'? he winked

"Oh...no, I'm sorry," she giggled.

"You could jump right in and get a closer look if ya like?" he teased.

"Shut up!" she squeaked and then left the room with a red face. 

Robin was a sweetheart. She made him feel at peace somehow, and he was already planning ways to make the trip last longer. The way she looked at him made him feel like a million dollars, and a big part of him wanted to make a move, but he didn't feel right about it yet. He needed to know more about her first, what she had been through, and what she really needed. Robin wasn't the kind of girl he could ever just screw; he knew that from the moment he first saw her. 

Robin called to him from the bed area asking if she could play music on his phone and he yelled back that she could; he liked having someone to yell things to, someone to be with.

If he slept with Robin, it had to be right. Merle refused to leave her more broken than she already was.

When he got out of the tub to dry off, he could hear her singing along with a song on his phone through the door. He didn't recognize the song but it sounded kinda romantic, and he liked the sound of her sweet voice.

_**Shoelaces untied** _

_**You can dry your eye** _

_**Perfect shadows lie behind us** _

_**And this is the day I make you mine** _

  


_**The way your hair lies** _

_**Sometimes unrecognized** _

_**All the way from Nice today, on a train** _

_**Nothing to say, but there's still time** _

  


_**You are the one** _

_**I've been waiting for today** _

_**And here comes the sun,** _

_**That's been baiting morn' today** _

  


Robin wasn't a girl he could just fuck, not in a million years. It had to be right with her if it happened at all.

/

They shared a few more drinks over the course of the evening, and she told him about her plans when she got to Huntsville.

"I think the community college there might let me in if I can get ahold of my old transcripts from high school. If I can find a job, then I could apply for a student loan."

"What do you want to study?"

"Early childhood education, I'd love to work with little ones. I tried to get a job in California, but it's not easy to find employment when you have no place of residence."

"You're gonna make it," he smiled. "Just meet up with your dad again, and I'm sure this time next year you'll be all set."

"You think?"

"Hell yeah. Look at what you've survived. I never spent a night on the street in my life. I'd be fuckin' terrified," he laughed.

"It is scary at first...it's like you lose your humanity, like you become a ghost or something. I want a real home so badly, nothing fancy, just a place I could belong for once."

"What kind of place did you grow up in?"

"We moved a lot. Just one apartment or mobile home after another, never a house, never anywhere that was clean or safe or pretty."

"You'll have a home someday soon," he insisted. "I can see good things for you."

"I hope you're right. I'm going to try my best to make it all happen."

It felt oddly comfortable, and Merle was completely relaxed in her presence. Robin rolled over to face him across the space between the two beds and settled her eyes on his. She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but wish her every happiness life could bring. He wished he could do more for her.

Merle got up and stripped off his clothes to sleep in only his boxers and asked her if there was anything else she needed before bed.

"I couldn't ask for anything more right now," she answered, and he turned out the light feeling good about what he had done for her.

"I think I really needed to stop for a break, maybe running into you was just what I needed," he sighed as he lay back in the dark and looked up at the shadowy ceiling. The room was black as night, so he didn't see her get up and come toward his bed at all.

"What's up?" he asked, trying not to come across as rude.

"I just thought...maybe..."

She settled on the edge of the bed, and he knew just what she was thinking.

"Honey...I don't think it's a good idea tonight."

"Why?"

He couldn't think of a response that sounded right, but he had to say something. The truth was that he didn't want her thinking she owed him anything, and he didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage. A little time would help with those issues; he would feel better about it in a day or two, it just didn't feel right in that moment.

"Are you worried you'll catch something?" she asked then, and her voice trembled with emotion. "I don't have anything; I go to the free clinic every month. I wouldn't try to make you sick after you've been so nice-"

"Hey, listen up, girl," he began, grabbing for her hand in the dark. "I guarantee that my sex life has been way sketchier than yours. I haven't had a relationship last longer than one fuck in years. I'm not judging you; I just don't wanna take advantage of the situation."

"For real?"

"Yeah. It ain't that I don't like you, honey. Don't go thinking that."

"You really are the last good man on Earth."

"Oh yeah, I'm a real saint," he laughed.

"You are," she said softly.

"Wanna cuddle?" he suggested as a compromise.

"I'd love that."

"Come here," he said, pulling back the covers.

Robin crawled into bed with him, and it was something utterly foreign to her. Merle wrapped her up in his arms and sighed heavily like he had finally retrieved something that was long lost.

She recalled the feeling of her step-father, Nathan, slipping into her bed at night, telling her that she had just been screaming from a nightmare she didn't recall. He'd tell her he'd stay just long enough to calm her down, but that's never how it went. He would run his hands down her nightgown and then things became dark. No man had ever laid next to her and not wanted sex.

Merle nuzzled his face into her neck, and she wondered if this was the bait and switch, but it wasn't.

"Goodnight, honey. I'm glad you're with me right now, I get kinda lonely sometimes," he whispered.

He was too much for her to take and she couldn't help the tears that fell silently down her cheeks. Merle was the man she didn't think existed, a good man.

"You...you're too nice to me," she whimpered.

Robin didn't want to come across as broken to him but she was helplessly broken, and there was no hiding it.

"I'm not showing you charity, Robin. I like you, and I want you with me for just that reason. I'm getting as much out of this as you."

"What are you getting without sex?"

"I got to watch you go stupid over the skywalk today and walk all over the park with you; I had a great time today."

"And you're not gay?"

"Jesus!" he laughed. "Have you ever been around a man who doesn't just want to get in your panties?"

"Not really."

It was an honest answer. Most of the men in her life crossed the line at some point, and she didn't know any different.

"I want to get to know you better, is that OK?"

"It's fine."

"So can I just hang onto you for tonight?"

"Please."

/

Merle squeezed her tighter, and she could feel his breath on her neck as she drifted off into a warm and peaceful rest. His body was all-encompassing and strong, it felt like nothing in the whole world could harm her when she was in his arms.

 


	4. Wild Horses

_ **Chapter 4** _

_**Oh, simple thing where have you gone?** _

_**I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on** _

_**So tell me when you're gonna let me in** _

_**I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin** _

/

Waking up with Robin next to him was a fascinating experience. She pouted in her sleep when the sun hit her face, and he found himself transfixed by it. Something inside insisted that he grab her and pull her back into his arms for another half hour before getting up for the day.

When Robin finally awoke, Merle suggested that they just keep driving and she said yes immediately, she was game for anything and Merle loved that. She looked so happy just to be with him.

"You could take me anywhere," she said as she devoured the continental breakfast while sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Merle still couldn't place what her real hair color was, but he guessed she was a brunette by the color of her eyebrows. The fact that he cared so much about this little mystery intrigued him.

_What was it about this girl?_

"If you wanna have a soak in the fancy tub before we go, I can pack up," Merle offered, and she jumped at the chance to take a jacuzzi bath; he figured she would.

Merle grabbed her backpack to place it near the door, and a little plastic photo album fell out of the front pocket. He couldn't resist looking through it as he listened to the water run and the pictures told him a story about her that he wanted more details of.

First was a picture of her as a child at Christmas time holding a baby doll. Another was an image of her and an older boy, maybe a brother, Robin had no front teeth in that picture. Next, a picture of her at perhaps 13 with a girlfriend, it appeared to be a sleepover party. Then a photo of her and a father figure at a bowling alley, Robin was holding a championship cup. A picture of Robin and a high school boyfriend at a prom, Robin, holding a baby in the hospital, Robin sleeping in a hammock, Robin in a pretty dress with a group of friends on the 4th of July. In all of the pictures, she had red hair, and he wished she still had it. The red hair suited her. She had known moments of happiness in her life, but he knew that pictures only told part of the story. The stepfather she mentioned and a mother who failed to put her first made her childhood less than idyllic.

Merle placed the album back in the pocket and zipped it up tight; he didn't want her to think he was snooping...even though he was.

/

Merle knew just where he wanted to take her next, and it was well out of the way, but somehow he didn't care. He longed to make that little girl in the pictures feel special, that little girl was still inside of her. Maybe her life had involved trading sex for food in times of desperation, but that's not who she was. Merle wanted to know her, and he planned to use hours on the road for that purpose.

"You ready to go?" he asked when she got out of the bathroom with her hair in a French braid and her face still clear of the makeup that hid her beauty.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Listen...if you're still not in a hurry, maybe we could take the whole week to check some things out. There are some places I'd really like to show you if you're up for it."

"Merle..."

She looked lost then as if she couldn't find the words to save her life.

"It's just an idea, I just thought-"

"Merle, you could take me to the moon if you wanted to...I just can't believe this is happening."

/

In a matter of an hour, they were on the road and Merle couldn't wait to take her to some of his favorite places. It was madness, but he was enjoying being with someone for the first time in years. Devil's Tower, Wyoming, was one of the coolest places he'd ever been to and even though it was a 21-hour drive he felt like he needed to take her there. He needed to see her reaction to it.

"I don't even want to know where we're going. Just take me away," she said, and she sounded so carefree for once.

"I won't be steering you wrong, little darlin'," he winked.

"Can I put on some music?" she asked, and soon they were listening to The Rolling Stones as the road unfolded ahead of them.

  
  


_**Childhood living is easy to do** _

_**The things you wanted I bought them for you** _

_**Graceless lady you know who I am** _

_**You know I can't let you slide through my hands** _

  
  


_**Wild horses couldn't drag me away** _

_**Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away** _

  
  


There was nowhere he needed to be for once and nothing that mattered except their journey. It felt like he was running away, but he wasn't even sure what he was running from. When she became restless, she began to ask him questions, and it helped to keep him alert.

"How did you get into truck driving?"

"Was just an easy way to make money...and then the money became addictive. I was just saving up to buy a house and then maybe get married, have a couple of kids or something, but I just never stopped driving."

"No serious relationships, then?"

"I'm on the road too much for that."

She fell silent for a moment so he figured he'd ask her something in return.

"Will you be staying in Huntsville long term?"

"I'm not sure, it depends if I can make anything of my life there," she shrugged. "Why?"

Merle shoulder checked and changed lanes but kept his eyes on the road as he answered.

"Sometimes I go through the area. Maybe I could stop by and see you if you wanted me to."

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah, if you wanted me to."

"You're the first person to be nice to me in months, of course, I would want you to. I'd be sad if we didn't see each other again after this."

"Me too."

/

Merle drove until he just couldn't anymore, but they were still not quite at Devil's Tower yet. The day had been fun; conversation came easily, and she wasn't a grumpy traveler. Sometimes he'd get a passenger who just couldn't sit still and always wanted to stop; Robin was relaxed and at ease on the road. She played music, and he was interested in the songs she'd choose, she was into some older music, and he wondered where she had picked that up. They stopped to eat sandwiches and fruit on the side of the highway, and he already wondered where they should go after Devil's Tower.

Merle spotted a Cooper's Hawk off in the distance, and they stood in silence, watching as it dove faster than seemed possible to snatch a rock pigeon from the sky at a lower altitude.

"Jesus!" Merle gasped.

"You can say that again," Robin concurred.

They made it to Casper, Wyoming by suppertime and Merle figured it would be nice to sleep at the base of Casper Mountain in Rotary Park. A night in the outdoors sounded good to him; he wanted to be more alone with her. The next day they'd make it to their destination, but he'd have a night with her in the sleeper first; all Merle wanted was to be alone with her and maybe extend their time together as well.

"We could spend the night in the park unless you want a proper hotel. I'd be happy to do that too."

"The truck is just fine. I can sleep under a piece of cardboard sitting up. The front seat of a truck is like the Four Seasons for me," she laughed.

"You take the bed."

"I couldn't."

"You're gonna, so stop arguing," he winked.

"You're a sweetheart, Merle."

"I'm a gentleman," he winked. "We still got a few hours before nightfall. You wanna go exploring a little?"

She just smiled at him and nodded her head. They had all that they needed, all that really mattered in life. Good company, the big blue sky above, and a thirst for adventure.

 


	5. Souvenirs

_ **Chapter 5 - Souvenirs** _

_**And if you have a minute why don't we go** _

_**Talk about it somewhere only we know?** _

_**This could be the end of everything** _

_**So why don't we go** _

_**Somewhere only we know?** _

_**Somewhere only we know?** _

_**/** _

_**Casper, Wyoming (Rotary Park)** _

Merle drove them to the beautiful park and planned to check it all out. He loved the outdoors, always had, it reminded him of his younger years with Daryl. In the woods, they were free and safe. They would spend hours in the woods just talking, hunting and pretending life was better than it really was.

"You wanna take a walk before we turn in, we could catch some fresh air and stretch our legs a little. I heard there's a pretty waterfall around here."

"Sounds like a plan," she smiled.

Robin stripped off her sweater and tied it around her waist, and he eyed the plain white tank top she had on underneath. This was the first proper look he'd had at her body, and his attraction was growing. She was a little thin, but she still had some muscle tone and perfect skin with freckles peppered all over her shoulders, chest, and arms. It was fair to say that she was just his type. Merle didn't even realize he had a type until he met her.

At the entrance to the park area was a souvenir shop and Merle took her in to grab a couple of bottles of water. She walked the aisles of the store and picked up a beaded necklace keychain with a small framed picture of Casper Mountain. She smiled at the keychain and then put it right back down, but Merle made a mental note of it. The damn thing probably only cost a dollar, but he wanted her to know that he was paying attention.

Merle grabbed some bottles of water and a few snacks then told her he'd be right out, he said he just wanted to ask where the waterfall was.

"Sure," she grinned. "I can't wait!"

Merle went back to find the keychain and picked up a postcard and a few other knick-knacks for her as well. He wanted her to remember the trip they had taken together; he wanted to remember it too. He carried everything to the counter and looked out the front window of the shop, but he couldn't see her.

"So where is this waterfall anyway?" he asked the woman behind the counter.

"You follow the path behind the shop and...just a minute."

Merle looked out the window again and still couldn't see Robin and the woman behind the counter was pulling out a visitor's map to show him the location.

"See? Right down this path aways and then head south for a little bit and you can't miss it."

"Thanks a lot."

She rang everything up, placed it in a paper bag, and Merle walked out in the late afternoon sun to meet up with Robin, only Robin wasn't there. Merle frowned and couldn't see anyone around. There had been a couple of younger guys outside before he went in, but they were gone as well, and so was Robin. For a split second, he wondered if she had left him, but he immediately doubted that.

_Why would she just up and leave him?_

_And who would she leave with anyway?_

"Robin?" he called and then he walked around the back of the shop. "Robin?"

There was no answer from her, and he started to panic.

_How could she just disappear into thin air?_

Merle walked down the path, calling her name and trying to piece together where she was.

"Robin!"

_What if he didn't find her?_

_What if he never saw her face again?_

He heard a soft whimper from a fair distance away that made his blood run cold, and he broke into a sprint towards the sound.

"Robin! Call out to me, honey!"

He followed where the sound originated for about a minute and then he heard it.

"Merle!"

"Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed, she was actually in danger by the sound of it.

When he found her laying on the ground in a clearing her face was dirty, and there was duct tape in her hair, her knees were scraped, and there was a scratch on her right forearm. He could hear some people taking off through the trees, and he was about to give chase when she pleaded with him not to leave her.

"Don't go!" she cried. "Please don't leave me here!"

"What happened?" he exclaimed.

"I was just standing there, and these guys said hello so I asked them if they knew where the waterfall was. They said to follow them to the back, and they'd show me the path...then they were dragging me into the trees...I'm sorry."

Merle bent down to pick her up and told her she had nothing to be sorry about.

"I'm finding you a hotel for tonight; we need to clean you up. Do you want to go to the police?" he asked.

"Do I have to?"

"No. It's up to you, honey. I was just asking."

"I'd rather not deal with police right now."

"Then you don't have to, come on."

Robin needed a proper bed and a door that locked after her ordeal, so the truck was out of the question as a place to sleep that night.

/

It was starting to get darker, and Merle just wanted a place to hang his hat and a cold beer. He walked her back to the truck and found a motor lodge to take care of her for the night.

"I'm going to get us a room, the door's locked. Nobody can get to you in here, I promise."

"Thanks."

He paid for a room in the front office, grabbed the key and took her upstairs with the first aid kit from his truck.

"I must look like the kind of girl that can just be taken at random," she sighed when she sat down on the edge of the only bed in the room.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"This isn't the first time I've been jumped like that. Do I look like street trash or something?"

"Of course not, you're beautiful, Robin."

She smiled up at him, and he insisted that she take a nice long shower, and told her he'd bandage her arm and her knees when she was done.

"You're too good, Merle."

"Hey, I try...by the way, I only got a single room cause it was the last they had left. I can crash on the couch."

"No. We can share," she nodded before disappearing into the bathroom.

Merle pulled off his shirt and flopped down on a chair in front of the TV with the bag from the gift shop. Her life was uglier than he thought and he wanted to make it beautiful, even if it was only for a week.

She came out of the bathroom with a towel around her body ten minutes later, and she looked so pure and beautiful that he knew he was done for. She was looking for her backpack to grab some clothes, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her damp skin.

"Hey," he said, when there was a silence, he didn't know how to fill.

"Come over here," he added as he picked up the first aid kit and slid his chair to the edge of the bed. "You need something on those scrapes, honey."

She walked toward him and settled down on the edge of the bed next to the chair. Robin held the towel around her chest and watched him put iodine on a cotton ball.

"That stuff stings," she winced.

"Don't be a baby," he winked and dabbed the cotton on her left kneecap and then the right.

Robin hissed and waved her hand to cool down the burning.

"Here," he said, bending down to blow on the cuts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Robin felt the warmth of his strong hand behind her right knee as he blew softly on her skin; adrenaline raced through her body like fire. She had offered herself to him twice already, and he hadn't accepted it, so she wasn't about to do it again, but she wanted to.

He bandaged her knees and the scratch on her forearm, and she returned to the bathroom to get dressed before settling down in the bed. There were only a few items in her bag, but she had a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that would do for sleeping in.

It was almost 8 pm and all Robin really wanted was to lay in bed with Merle and at least feel him close. She had never met anyone like him; nobody had ever treated her so well for no reason. He was genuine, thoughtful, and so handsome to her. Robin loved his blonde curls, his blue eyes, and the muscular perfection of his body.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Not really. I've had more to eat since I met you than I usually do in a week," she laughed.

"Do you wanna have a couple drinks and watch a movie or something?" he suggested.

"That sounds perfect," she smiled.

"I'm gonna run downstairs to the offsale and grab some beer, and you stay right there," he said.

"I'm not going anywhere," she vowed.

"You better not."

When Merle returned she wanted so badly to kiss him and touch him, but she couldn't handle another rejection. They drank beer in bed, and she snuggled up close as the movie played. He picked an older action movie she had very little interest in but at least she could be next to him.

"Besides getting abducted, are you having a good time?" he asked.

"I'm having the time of my life," she sighed and wrapped her arm around his middle.

"You're gonna love where we go tomorrow," he grinned and then let out a long and laborious yawn.

"I could love being anywhere with you," she said softly, and then he looked at her for a long moment as her heart beat right out of her chest.

Merle stretched over to turn off the lamp next to the bed and leaned back against the headboard to pull her in closer. He didn't kiss her; he didn't make a move. She knew then that he wouldn't ever hurt her like the other men in her past who forced themselves on her. She wanted to know what it was like to be with a man who respected women, a man who cared if a woman felt safe.

Robin wanted more with him, but she soon realized that he was snoring softly as he held her and she smiled to herself at the level of comfort between them already. Merle was a good man, whether he wanted her or not and she was still very grateful. Merle held her close all night as he slept, and she felt safe and warm in his arms, protected, and cared for like she never thought possible.

 


	6. The Choice is Yours

_ **Chapter 6 – The Choice is Yours** _

_**Oh, simple thing where have you gone?** _

_**I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on** _

_**So tell me when you're gonna let me in** _

_**I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin** _

_**/** _

Robin lay on her side watching the rise and fall of Merle's chest that morning. She couldn't help but want to kiss his lips as he lay there and she wondered if he'd wake up if she did. His eyes moved beneath his eyelids, and she wanted to know what he was dreaming about. She was so taken with him and wondered who she'd have to be to catch his eye the way he had caught hers. His hair was dirty blonde and adorably curly, his body was stunning masculine perfection...she wanted him from head to toe.

With his good looks and kind heart, Merle could have any woman he wanted. She wasn't expecting to be the one he chose, and he had said that relationships weren't in the cards for him. Still, she wanted to know how it felt to kiss him as she focused on his face in the sunlight.

/

Merle found Robin sketching on a piece of hotel paper at the desk when he woke up, and he realized that he hadn't given her the keychain yet. He had wanted to give her a lot more than some cheap trinkets the night before but sleep had won the war. All the driving had taken its toll. The stress of the day before had made him forget everything except taking care of her.

"Good morning," he groaned, getting out of bed and grabbing the paper bag from a side table.

"Hey. You slept late, feel well rested?" she smiled.

"Yeah...what time is it anyway?"

"Eleven."

"Jesus! I haven't slept this late in years!" he laughed.

"You must have needed it."

"You must be starved," he frowned.

"I had some coffee. I'm OK."

"I'm taking you for a good breakfast and then we're hitting the road again," he assured her. "Maybe we can find another waterfall without rapists in the woods."

Merle handed her the bag, and she began to take each item out and smiled up at him like he'd given her the keys to a brand new car.

"You got all this for me?"

"It's nothing, just some trinkets to remember the trip," he smiled.

Merle walked to the bathroom to wash up, and she held each little gift in her hands, a warm feeling washing over her like it was Christmas morning. There was the keychain she had been looking at, five postcards; a Wyoming shot glass, a pen, and a mug. Nobody ever treated her the way he did, and she didn't understand it. He didn't seem to want her sexually and yet he was being so sweet. It was hard to believe anyone as nice as Merle wasn't just trying to take what he wanted and abandon her, but that didn't seem to be the case at all. Robin trusted him completely, and it felt so good to be able to trust a man.

/

Merle took her to a restaurant for pancakes and then they were on the road to Devil's Tower. Robin still didn't know where they were going and he loved that, he wanted to show her that life still had surprises.

With Merle sleeping late and stopping to eat, it was already approaching 6 pm but he didn't care, they had no schedule to keep. He felt alive like he hadn't in years. Not having a destination with a delivery felt great.

Robin spotted the tower on the horizon from a fair distance away and was mesmerized by it instantly.

"What is that?" she asked. "It's so far away still...but it's massive...is that where we're going?"

"Good eye, little one," he teased.

"What is this place?"

"Devil's Tower. It's the craziest thing you ever saw close up," he grinned.

"This is like a dream," she sighed. "Someone up there was smiling down on me when you picked me up."

"Me too," he said.

Merle pulled into the park, paid entry and pulled up at their camping spot to take a load off and rest a minute. Robin hadn't taken her eyes off the tower the entire time, and he could tell she was eager to explore.

"Can we go on a hike to get closer?" she asked right away.

"I take it you're impressed," he chuckled.

"I need to see it closer," she insisted. "It's so amazing...and kinda creepy looking, like it was placed there by magic or something. It doesn't look natural somehow."

Merle was tired, but he loved the enthusiasm in her voice, she was alive with wonder. It didn't look like the attack from the night before had gotten to her. He probably would have kissed her then, but it didn't feel right after what she'd been through. Something told him that it was an option now, though.

The air smelled like rain, and she walked at his side like a familiar shadow, sometimes following and other times leading. Her hair moved softly with each footfall, and she just kept her eyes on the tower ahead. Robin was beautiful and fragile, and he felt an overwhelming urge to shelter her from all of the evil in the world. He couldn't help thinking of her future when they parted ways and wondered if she'd make it or wind up in need again. They walked for over an hour, and she asked him more questions that he was happy to answer.

"Have you ever done this before?" she asked.

"Walked?" he laughed.

"I mean, have you ever taken someone you don't know to a place like this?"

"No."

"Then why now?"

She stopped and picked some flowers from the ground as he fumbled for words.

"I just like being with you, I like seeing you happy after what you've been through."

"Nobody ever treated me this way. I could never repay you for any of this."

"You already have, I'm having a great time with you...I think I really needed this."

"You're not like anyone else, Merle," she sighed, and Merle knew that he was hooked on the way she looked at him.

By the time they made it to the base of the giant rock formation, it was getting darker, but she had to see it up close.

"It's incredible," she gasped when she was close enough to touch it.

Merle just watched as she walked around it in a daze, running her hands over the stone and taking it all in.

The sky was overcast, and the atmosphere became thick with humidity as he stood transfixed by her.

"How did something so beautiful just happen? Why is this here?" she mused.

"Must be magic," he teased. "5000 feet of igneous rock come right up outta the ground just for you to look at it, honey."

She turned toward him then, laughing and so beautiful. She looked like the happiest woman on Earth just to be with him, and he loved her then, although he didn't realize what he was feeling until days later.

The way she looked at him changed over the next few seconds and he heard a distant rumble of thunder over the mountain, the air around them was foggy and tense with anticipation. Merle felt a cool drop of rain on his arm and then saw another land on her forehead. Standing silent beneath an impending downpour and overbearing rock together, they were hyper-focused on each other's face. They were a fair distance away from the truck, and Merle knew it was about to come down hard.

When the rain did fall, it wasn't kidding around, and he grabbed her hand to break into a sprint back to the truck. The grass was slippery, and a flash of lightning lit up the whole sky followed by a startling thunderclap. Robin squeaked, and they both began to laugh. It felt like they were children, carefree and innocent.

They were very soon soaked and laughing hysterically as he gripped her hand tightly and ran as fast as he could. There were large rocks in the landscape, forcing them to leap over or around them like kids.

"You're too fast!" she screamed after him, almost tripping over her own feet. "I can't keep up!"

"Come on, honey! We're gettin' drenched!" he laughed, looking back briefly at her black hair clinging to the sides of her face and that perfect smile.

They finally came upon the truck, and he searched for his keys as Robin continued to giggle behind him. Finally, they climbed up onto the main landing and then crawled into the sleeper, out of breath and still laughing. They collapsed side by side on the floor of the sleeper, so close that their arms were touching, and he felt the kind of happiness he wanted more of. This wasn't a quick sexual tryst in a motel; this was romance like in the movies. When she turned her head to look at him, her eyes were shining, her face was wet, and he could feel it in every beat of his heart; he needed her.

They finally stopped laughing and were left face to face with any possibility ahead of them. Merle rolled onto his side and touched her wet hair, moving it off of her cheek, and her hand came to rest on his upper arm.

"You don't owe me a damn thing, Robin...just say no if you don't want me. The choice is yours."

He wanted to give her room to back out. She had been through enough in her life with men, and he refused to just take her without full permission.

"I want you, Merle, I want you so bad," she nodded, and he could see a flood of emotion take over her beautiful face.

Closing the distance between them seemed to take forever, but that first kiss took his very soul and handed it over to her without warning. Wet lips, cool skin, and soaking clothes gave way to the fire inside both of them almost immediately, and he rolled over her to kiss her more deeply.

Merle felt her fingertips begin on the buttons of his shirt and soon he was shrugging out of it and pulling her tank top up over her head.

"Bed?" he breathed when the floor became uncomfortable, and she grinned as she got to her feet.

They seemed to acknowledge simultaneously that getting the bed drenched with their remaining clothes was a bad idea, so they stripped, kissed, and groped at each other before laying down on the quilt.

Her pale, freckled body was so delicate, and he felt like a beast next to her. Without clothing, she looked even younger than 21, but the way she touched him suggested she was definitely a grown woman who knew just what she wanted. Robin was on top of his body with a soft thigh on either side of his right leg, kissing him aggressively. His arms were full of her, and the taste of her sweet mouth made him hungry for more. She moved down to kiss his neck then, and her hands ran softly all over him as she licked his earlobe and breathed warm breath into his ear. She gave him the chills in the best way, and he closed his eyes for a moment to just process the way it felt to be touched by her, it was perfect.

He was hard almost instantly, and to his dismay, she took his hand in hers and urged it to her breast.

"I could have sworn you didn't want me," she whispered and moved her soft kissed down his chest toward his belly.

"Why?"

"Because you turned me down," she explained between kisses.

"I didn't, honey...I just wanted it to be right. I needed to know it was the right thing to do."

"You can't be real," she moaned, trailing her kisses then down to his strong thighs and drawing a groan of need from him.

Merle closed his eyes for a moment and felt her lick slowly up the inside of his thigh right to his balls, and he shivered in sweet anticipation. She touched him then, and he hissed at the sensation of her little hand taking control of his raging manhood. He wanted to sink all 9 inches of himself inside her and feel her tremble in his arms; he wanted to take her over.

She worked his dick like a pro and brought her warm wet mouth down on him like she had a telepathic connection with every nerve in his body.

"Oh, honey...Jesus!" he gasped as he reached for her face to ease her up.

Like the changing of the guard he rolled her under him and pulled her arms up over her head.

"I want you to tell me if you don't like something."

"I will...but please take me the way you want to...don't change what you do cause I'm OK."

Merle kissed her lips then softly and felt her legs squirm around till he was enveloped in them.

/

His mouth was demanding, it knew what it wanted, and she was happy to provide. Merle took her throat with his teeth and thrust his dick against her wetness like the tease that he was.

"I need you," she pleaded, but he wasn't having it yet.

"I'll give it all to you, but I gotta please you first."

She lay back and just let him do his worst, and it was an otherworldly experienced that would never be matched. Merle Dixon was no joke when it came to sex.

He told her to keep her arms up, and then his hands and mouth laid claim to her breasts. He held them both firmly in his hands and moved from one to the other and back again, trailing his hot tongue over her nipples, sucking softly and then tracing a circle around each before starting it all over.

She could still feel his manhood against her needy pussy, and she was writhing under him only inches from coming apart.

"Be good, honey...hold on and I'll take care of you."

He let her off the hook eventually and moved his attention down to her legs, holding each and kissing from her bandaged knees to the apex where all the focus was needed. He moved between her thighs like he belonged there, nestled in the embrace of her legs.

Merle kept his eyes on her as he bent down to taste her sweetness for the first time. A little salty and fresh to the tongue, she quenched his thirst completely. He wanted to drown in her body and licked up one lip, and down the other so slowly she was sobbing for more.

He nudged her folds further apart with his tongue and aimed his lust at her clit. She let her legs fall open then and arched her back as he grinned and licked the little nerve center with such skill that she broke in two.

"Oh, God...OH! Mmmmm!"

She grasped for his head and bucked her hips up to his mouth like she needed his touch just to breathe. He loved that he'd gotten her off good, he wanted her to feel this way every night that he could have her.

/

He came down over her as she panted, eyes closed for the next 2 minutes, and then she couldn't take it any more.

"Please...please, Merle."

"You on the pill, honey?"

"Yeah...Planned Parenthood," she shrugged.

"You OK going without a condom then? I don't have anything either."

"I'm good," she smiled when she realized that he trusted her to be clean. She felt honored by it.

Merle slid his right hand under the small of her back and lined up his rock hard cock with her entrance.

"You're big," she noted.

"I got you, honey...I'll go slow."

He proceeded to move into her as he knelt between her open thighs, with his big warm hand on her lower back and his other hand guiding himself into her.

"You OK?"

"Oh my God!" she whined in ecstasy, looking down at where their bodies met and realizing that he was still only halfway inside her.

He continued, and she could feel him filling her body and heart like nobody else ever had. The look in his eyes, the sensation of his hand on her back and the way he was so deeply-seated inside her, she was in a sinful heaven.

"Move," she moaned.

Merle began to rock his hips and bent down to kiss her as she gasped and panted out her approval. Her feet came to rest on his back, and she knew that he was like nobody else, only he could give her what she really needed.

The groans and grunts that came from him as he fucked were so sexy she could hardly take it. Merle was the ultimate in masculine heat, and she wanted to belong to him forever.

"Like that, little girl? Like what I'm givin' ya?"

"I love it, Merle...please don't stop...don't ever stop."

His hand gripped her right ass cheek hard and lifted her hips up into his pelvis with each thrust, and she fell weak on the bed simply allowing him to take her any way he liked.

It was never so good for either of them before. A connection was made in the sleeper of Merle's truck that meant more than sex, more than lust and it wouldn't be denied, regardless of where they thought their futures were headed. Some things in life could not be denied.

 


	7. The Right Thing To Do

_**& Chapter 7 - The Right Thing To Do** _

_**And if you have a minute why don't we go** _

_**Talk about it somewhere only we know?** _

_**This could be the end of everything** _

_**So why don't we go?** _

_**So why don't we go?** _

/

Robin was gone to the world the moment it was over. Just a simple, "That felt soooo good...you're incredible..." and she was asleep.

Merle held her close, and even though the night was silent as the grave, he couldn't seem to rest the way she did. He thought about taking her to her father's place and driving away; it made him feel anxious inside. The idea of not being with her, not knowing if she was OK from one moment to the next felt wrong to him.

Robin had told him what she wanted from life, and his life was the opposite of that. She wanted the simple life with a white picket fence and to lay down roots. Merle had no real roots to speak of.

Merle tried to just enjoy the moment and closed his eyes to listen to the sound of her breathing. He already felt like a different man with her, and he wondered what that meant. Eventually, he did fall asleep and awoke to find himself clinging to her in an early morning sunbeam having not moved a muscle all night. Robin put him at peace, and he loved the new and foreign feeling of serenity.

/

After another short walk in the morning, Robin figured she should take the number she found online and try to call her father. She had been putting it off, but she had to call eventually. He would be stunned to hear from her but he was all she had left for family, there was nobody else to turn to.

"Merle? Can I make a long distance call on your phone?"

"Of course, here," he answered handing over his cell like it was nothing.

He watched her intently, and she knew he was wondering who she was calling.

"Just calling my dad...I don't even know if he wants to see me."

"I'm sure he will, honey."

Merle sat back on the bed and watched her pace the small floor space, listening for information about her plans from the one side of the conversation.

"Hi, is this Harvey Burris?"

She was biting her lip, and he could tell that the call was not an easy one to make.

"It's me...Robin....yeah....I'm not living with mom anymore...I was just wondering if maybe I could come and stay with you for a while...I don't have any money, but I could get a job right away."

Merle wondered why her father's first questions were about money, it rubbed him the wrong way instantly, but he just kept listening.

"Mom is still with Nathan, and I can't be around him...it's a long story...I won't be any trouble."

Merle didn't like her father, and he couldn't even hear what he was saying, all he knew was that he hadn't said 'I miss you, honey' or 'I love you so much,' and that's what he should have been saying.

The conversation went on a little longer, and nothing sounded right about it to Merle, but it wasn't his place to tell her what to do.

"So?" he asked when she hung up.

"He said I can stay for a little bit if I can work and pay some rent. He's living with some woman and her kids..."

Merle could tell that she had been looking for some affection from her father but hadn't received it.

"Bet he was surprised to hear from you," Merle smiled, hoping to glean a little pleasantness from the conversation.

"Yeah."

"You OK?"

"It's just not how I imagined it."

"Sorry about that," he offered.

"It's OK, at least it'll be a proper home. It's been so long since I had a real address...maybe now I can start over."

"You will, honey. Everything's gonna be OK now," he assured her. "All your dreams are gonna come true."

/

Robin did have things she wanted and needed to accomplish in life, but her dreams now included Merle. She felt like she needed to become self-sufficient and gainfully employed so that she would never have to live on the street again. The idea of going back to the streets felt like a fate worse than death, especially now that she was feeling such happiness.

"I need to be able to take care of myself," she said as she stared out the window, deep in thought. "I can't ever go back to the streets again."

"I understand. You'll have everything you want, all of the things you deserve in no time."

"I hope so."

Merle decided right then that he was going to give her something she really needed, he'd just have to find a bank the next time they stopped in a city. He happened to know that there was a local branch of his bank in Witchita and a hell of a good bar too.

/

Robin watched as the clouds passed the window outside and then looked over at Merle beside her, he was so handsome and kind that it hurt to think of letting him go. She had never been with a real man before, a man who cared for the welfare of women, a man who protected women. She was starting to really sense the weight of how painful it would feel to watch him drive away. She had a strong suspicion that Merle would be the best memory of her life.

She played another song on his iPhone as they traveled and tried not to let the sadness ruin her day. Robin was a beggar, not a chooser. She had to remind herself how lucky she was just to have met him.

 

_**I cannot guess what we'll discover** _

_**When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels** _

_**But I know our filthy hands can wash one another's** _

_**And not one speck will remain** _

_**I do believe it's true** _

_**That there are roads left in both of our shoes** _

_**But if the silence takes you** _

_**Then I hope it takes me too** _

_**So brown eyes I'll hold you near** _

_**'Cause you're the only song I want to hear** _

_**A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere** _

 

Merle said he needed to stop after 7 hours on the road and they pulled into the small town of Broken Bow, Nebraska for the rest of the day.

"We'll make it to our next stop tomorrow if that's good with you," he said, and she was happy for the trip to take longer.

"Stop as often as you like...I wish this didn't have to end."

Merle was grabbing his wallet from the back of the cab and apparently hadn't heard her, so she rethought her words.

"What's that, honey?"

"Nothing."

"You hungry?"

"Sure," she smiled. "You'll get sick of feeding me soon."

"I don't enjoy eating alone...I like feeding you," he smiled.

/

Merle noticed that she seemed blue and wondered if she was feeling OK. Ever since she had spoken to her father, her mood seemed off. He took her for supper and tried to lift her spirits as best he could.

"You OK, honey?" he asked as he ordered them some drinks and cozied up next to her in a booth.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said softly.

"I'm gonna miss the hell outta you, honey. Maybe I won't even let you go," he laughed.

"Don't tease me," she answered.

"Wish I had a proper home so I could give you what you need," he said.

"I guess it's impossible to have everything you want in life," she sighed.

"I'll come through and see you in Huntsville whenever I can, honey. You ain't gettin' rid of me so easy."

"Good...you're my only friend."

Her face revealed fear, sadness, and a hopeless longing inside and it bothered him to see her so down. He had to say something to make her smile.

"Hey, little girl. No more sad face," he grinned, leaning in to kiss her neck softly. "Do I have to take you somewhere private and make you feel good? I could try real hard to get your mind off your troubles, darlin'."

"You are pure evil, Merle Dixon," she moaned and reached for his blonde curls.

"I wanna put a smile on that pretty face, honey...you gonna allow me that privilege?" he growled and he could feel her squirm closer to him in the booth.

"You make me crazy for you," she whispered, and he could feel himself starting to get hard already, "you make me so wet for you."

They ate fast, and he drove her to the Cobblestone Inn for the night with no time wasted.

/

Robin could feel his need for her so strong and so hot as soon as the door to their room closed behind him and he pulled her into his arms.

"I was rock hard for you all the damn way up the elevator, honey," he grinned, and she melted at his words.

"Touch me now...while we can still do this," she pleaded.

Merle scooped her up into his arms and her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her to the bed to lay her out. She could feel him already hard as stone between her legs, and she needed him so bad it burned everywhere like a fever.

Merle kissed her neck and began to strip her slowly. He tended to hold his huge hand under her ass and pull her pelvis up to meet his body, and it drove her insane with lust. No man who ever touched her even cared that she felt good, they were all using her body for their own needs. Merle, on the other hand, only seemed to focus on her pleasure and it felt incredible.

Merle pulled her pants down her legs and then her panties, and she looked up at his perfect face helplessly. His body was magnificent, and the fire in his eyes set every fiber of her being burning for his touch.

"Open up for me...tell me what you need."

"I just need you...only you know how to make me feel good."

Robin moved her knees apart and watched his eyes roll back into his head with desire. She squirmed out of her top and her bra and moved her hands over her own breasts, hoping to make him wild for her.

"Damn...you putting on a show for me?" he winked.

"I could...I'd do anything for you," she purred.

"I wouldn't say no to that, honey."

"Have a seat," she answered, pointing to a chair next to the bed.

Robin let her heels rest on the edge of the bed with her knees parted enough for him to see how badly she needed him, how wet he made her. She moved her hands down over her breasts and then slid her right hand down between her thighs.

"My body needs you so bad...I never needed anyone the way I need you," she whined.

Her fingers slipped down between her wet lips, and she arched her back as she imagined his touch. Being with Merle made her feel sexually powerful and beautiful, not like with other men. She felt vulnerable and used with all of her past lovers.

"God damn it, woman...that's nice!" he groaned.

"See what you do to me?"

"Oh yeah...."

Her fingers lay on either side of her clit and began to make small circles, driving her to the edge as he watched.

/

Merle's cock was painfully hard as he watched her finger slide inside where it was so warm and so wet. Slow and sensual, it made his dick ache for her in the worst way. He was thirsty for her and the feel of her tight pussy clinging to his dick again. He moved closer; he had to, and then he was moving her hand away to make room for him to please her.

"Lemme do it...this is my job."

Merle eyed the wet lips, open to him and flushed dark pink with need and ran his finger over her clit ever so gently.

"Fuck!" she gasped and her legs closed against his shoulders.

"Nope. Keep 'em nice and wide for me, honey."

Merle spread her lips before his face and bent down to lick her entrance with just the tip of his tongue.

"Oh Christ!" she whimpered.

"More?"

"Please!"

Merle's fingertips held her slippery lips apart as he bent down again to kiss her slowly everywhere. He kissed her clit. He kissed her up and down both lips. He French kissed her womanhood as she called out to God for mercy.

Soon his fingers were deep inside her, and he was swirling his tongue around her clit like the devil. If he had a Faustian bargain for her to sign in that moment, she would have traded her own life.

"Fuck! Oh, Fuck! Oh, Christ!" she rambled.

/

In a rush of lust, Robin grabbed him and pulled him down to the bed with what little strength she had left and threw her leg over his waist in a reverse cowgirl position to give him the blowjob of his life. She felt him grab both ass cheeks as she sank her thirsty mouth down over his dick and she realized that she felt completely safe with him, she had never had anything like this before.

"Holy hell!" he growled and dug his fingers into her flesh harder before laying a little smack on her right ass cheek.

It felt like the end. What Robin felt inside was deep sadness at the thought of letting him go, but all she could express was overpowering lust. Telling him how she felt and begging for them to stay together somehow didn't feel like something she could do. She didn't think she could take him saying that it's not what he wanted. She couldn't risk the kind of pain that would cause.

Robin took him deep with every ounce of her emotion for him, stopping once in a while to stroke him slow and steady. He began to groan helplessly as she sucked him off and she couldn't take it much longer; she wanted to cum again. Her calves lay on either side of his waist, and he moaned desperately that the sight of her pussy was killing him, that he needed to get inside her. Robin kept her tailbone raised for him to enjoy an unobstructed view of her need for him and very soon he turned the tables.

"Enough!" he snarled. "Get that pussy over here, honey. I wanna fuck you good and proper."

Merle had her underneath him in a heartbeat, and she lay wide open to him as he teased the head of his massive cock up and down her needy slit.

"I need you, Merle...I need you so badly."

She was desperate to feel the gratification of his manhood deep inside her. He made her feel so safe and loved even if it wasn't really love, even if it was just convenient sex. Merle slid slowly into her and kept his eyes focused on hers as he did; it would be agony to let him go.

/

He couldn't recall it ever feeling the way it did with Robin, she really felt something for him, and he was feeling things for her that he didn't fully understand. Her eyes seemed to plead with him for answers, and he wished he knew what she really wanted and needed most, he was ready to give her everything if he only knew what the right thing to do was.

Merle kissed her then, just a steady kiss as she held his face in her hands...this was something he didn't recognize. Robin was so much more than just a nice girl, more than a good fuck, but would taking her with him be the right thing to do?

 


	8. Matters of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter:)   
> Thanks for reading! xo

_ **Chapter 8 - Matters of the Heart** _

_**This could be the end of everything** _

_**So why don't we go, somewhere only we know?** _

_**Somewhere only we know?** _

_**Somewhere only we know?** _

_**/** _

Robin woke up to the sight of Merle doing push-ups on the floor of the hotel room.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a little grin across her lips.

"I gotta sit so much for work, so I work out wherever I can."

She crawled to the end of the bed to watch him and lay down on her belly.

"Your body is so perfect," she sighed.

His arms were massive, rippling with muscles and his broad shoulders and strong chest made him the picture of masculine heaven. She eyed his tight ass as he continued up to 50 pushups before stopping.

"You objectifyin' me, woman?" he grinned.

"I'm trying to memorize every inch of you," she said softly.

Merle knelt next to the bed and looked up into her eyes for a moment.

"Do you think you'll be happy in Huntsville?"

"I don't know."

"Is your dad a bad person? If he's gonna hurt you, then I won't leave you there."

Robin didn't want Merle to take her with him for the wrong reasons. She wanted him to ask her to stay with him because he wanted her there. It was a foolish thing for a girl in her position to be picky, but she had often ended up in the wrong place for all the wrong reasons. If she was meant to be with Merle, she just wanted it to be because he needed her the way she needed him.

"He won't hurt me...he's not a good dad or anything, but I won't be in danger."

/

They were off again by noon and Merle began talking all about a bar in Witchita that was the coolest place around called Lucky's Everyday. He had been there with his brother and had a night of drunken karaoke that still made him laugh.

"Your brother sounds great," she said.

"He is. My kid brother Daryl is the best guy around. He's married to a woman named Carol, and they're raisin' her little girl Sophia."

"You're an uncle?" she smiled.

"I stop by whenever I can and take Sophia out for a few hours to give them a break. She likes to fish and toss a football around."

Merle pulled out his phone and found a picture of him with a little blonde girl who was proudly holding up a fish she had caught.

"She's so cute. I bet you're a great uncle."

"I try. I don't get to stop by as often as I'd like to, but I try."

"Do you still want a family of your own?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"You said that you planned to save money to get married and start a family in the beginning, but then you just kept driving."

"It would be pretty cool to have a home. A little woman to come home to and a couple of kids running around callin' me daddy."

She watched a big dopey smile come over his face as he thought about it and she wanted to believe that he was imagining them together.

"You should do that," she smiled. "You'd be an amazing father."

"Maybe."

The conversation stopped then, and she didn't want to push. Eventually, they arrived in Witchita, and she couldn't wait to stop again, the hours of driving were exhausting, but at least she had the bed in the back to take naps when she got tired. Robin had no idea how he kept going the way he did.

Merle took her for a quick bite to eat and then insisted on picking her up some new clothes to take her out that night and to begin her new life in Huntsville. He left her standing on the street for a moment as he went into the bank to do some business and she watched him through the window from the back, she loved the look of his perfect ass and smiled to herself as she objectified him once again.

Robin called her father again, and they settled on a day to arrive at his home. He lived in a middle-class neighborhood with a new family, and he said she could stay in the basement.

Robin dreaded living with him again but she had no other options, and she refused to beg Merle to take her with him, she didn't want to push herself into his life. Merle probably valued his freedom and paying for another person's needs all the time was ok for a week but not likely something he wanted to do forever. If she was being honest, she did want to settle as well, and that wasn't in the cards for Merle.

Merle picked a baby pink dress for her at a shop in downtown Witchita and said she looked like a wet dream come true.

"You're a very bad man," she winked as he pulled her into the change room for a quick make-out session.

Every moment with him became one of the best moments of her life, and she tried her hardest to collect them all in her heart and mind.

/

Robin was fun and wild. She made him feel so alive. Merle never wanted to stop kissing her sweet lips.

By the time they got within a block of the downtown bar, he realized she was taking hold of him in all new ways. Holding hands with her as they walked down the street felt so natural, and when he caught a glimpse of them together in the window of a storefront, he loved the way they looked together so much that he felt the need to capture it.

"Hey, just a sec."

He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of her at his side in the reflection of a store window.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We look cute together, I wanna remember this," he smiled, but she looked sad again. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she insisted with a bullshit smile. "Come...take me to this bar."

They sat at a booth in the back and drank beer by the pitcher, laughing and holding onto each other like high school sweethearts. The bar was lively, and a Beatles tribute band played for an hour until it was dark and everyone was tipsy enough to sing some karaoke.

"I fuckin' love The Beatles," Merle grinned and leaned his head on her shoulder to listen.

"I know the words to every Beatles song there is," she laughed.

"Bullshit."

"Name a song, and I know the words by heart, try me," she winked. "All my mom ever played was The Beatles and stuff from the 60s and 70s when I was growing up."

"I'll believe you," he relented and poured her another drink.

/

Robin was half plastered and laughing herself silly next to him when she got what she believed was a great idea an hour later.

"I need to talk to the band!" she squealed, and Merle wondered if he should keep her at the table for her own safety.

"You sure you can even walk, honey?"

"I wanna sing you a song!" she grinned and then she escaped his grasp before he could catch her.

Robin slithered in next to the guitarist of The Beatles cover band and the next thing Merle knew the guy had his arm around her and they were whispering to each other. Merle had no idea what was going on and then the strangest, but most romantic thing ever, happened to him, something he'd never forget. She walked onto the tiny dark stage and stood before the microphone as the guitarist joined her and Merle held his breath as he waited.

 

_**Here I stand head in hand** _

_**Turn my face to the wall** _

_**If he's gone, I can't go on** _

_**Feeling two-foot small** _

 

_**Everywhere people stare** _

_**Each and every day** _

_**I can see them laugh at me** _

_**And I hear them say** _

 

_**Hey, you've got to hide your love away** _

_**Hey, you've got to hide your love away** _

 

_**How can I even try** _

_**I can never win?** _

_**Hearing them, seeing them** _

_**In the state, I'm in** _

 

_**How could he say to me** _

_**love will find a way?** _

_**Gather round all you clowns** _

_**Let me hear you say** _

 

_**Hey, you've got to hide your love away** _

_**Hey, you've got to hide your love away** _

 

Robin's voice was soft and sweet, and he loved her like crazy, there wasn't a question in his mind. He was sure of the feeling now; it had to be love.

"That was fuckin' amazing, honey! Thank you!" he beamed up at her.

Merle pulled her into his arms at the table and kissed her with everything he had as the bar filled with drunken patrons erupted in applause. He felt so proud to be with her and just excited to be alive. Already, he couldn't see how going back to his usual, isolated life could make sense.

Robin was the one; but how could he make it work?

What would he do for a job?

Was it what she wanted?

"I wanna take you somewhere quiet and make slow love to you, honey...I have to."

"Then take me where you want me," she whispered. "I'm all yours."

/

Merle wouldn't ever forget that night. He took her to the nearest motel, and they stood in a hot shower, holding onto each other like they'd never let go. He kissed her in the steamy little room with his hands pressed to the wall on either side of her head and her eager little hand driving him to the edge of sanity.

Merle kissed slowly down her body to please her as she clung to the shower rail and then pulled her, dazed and grinning to the bed. Merle made love to her so slowly that night. Robin moaned his name sweetly into his ear and dragged her nails down his back in surrender.

They would be in Huntsville by the next evening, and he'd have to make a hard decision either way. He would either ask her to change all of her plans for him or walk away completely; both options seemed to be complicated.

He was lost in her arms and unsure what the next day would bring.

By the time it was over he was left sitting on a chair in the corner watching her sleep and contemplating the future. Less than a week ago they had been strangers on different paths. He couldn't ignore what he felt for her, but he didn't know if he could offer her the stability she was seeking.

She could go to school if she lived with her father, she could find a job and be with a guy who lived locally, a guy who stayed put for more than a few days at a time. Robin could become stable and stop living without a proper roof over her head...it sounded better for her, in the long run, to be without him. The fact that he could already feel her spirit in every vein was his own problem; he didn't want to stand in her way. Merle changed his mind from one second to the next and couldn't decide for the life of him what he was supposed to do. After over a decade alone in a truck, he wasn't equipped for matters of the heart.

 


	9. I Need You So Much Closer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoy shorter stories:) They get right to the point and they are very satisfying to write.   
> I hope you all enjoyed this and TBH I could see me adding to this at a later date. I would like to write what happens when they meet Daryl and Carol in Senoia.  
> Thanks for reading! xoxo

_**Chapter 9 - I Need You So Much Closer** _

 

The next morning, Robin and Merle packed up their possessions from around the hotel room in silence. Neither of them could think of what to say...and that would be their downfall.

Robin was afraid to ask Merle to take her along, afraid of pushing herself into his life. She just couldn't stand being the one to bring it up. Even after everything she'd been through, she couldn't beg him.

Merle, on the other hand, was concerned that the road wouldn't fulfill her needs, and he didn't know how to stop driving. He didn't know if he'd be good at settling down, or if it's what she wanted.

It was obvious that they needed to just talk it out...but neither of them felt able to start the conversation.

**############################**

The sky was appropriately grey and the miles passed slowly.

They finally arrived in Huntsville late in the evening, and he considered asking her to get a room with him again, but he didn't want to draw out the pain. Merle drove her to a quiet generic neighborhood as the day drew to a close and felt lost about what to do next. They pulled up outside her father's home, and tension filled every inch of the truck.

"Are you sure you'll be OK?" he asked.

"I'm sure."

She gathered up her backpack and the bag of new clothing he had bought her and shook her head.

"I'll never forget you..."

She wiped away a few tears and turned to hug him quickly.

"I need to go, or I'll be a bawling mess in no time," she said softly.

"Wait a second. I got something for you."

"What?"

Merle handed her an envelope from the bank, and she opened it to reveal thousands of dollars.

"Merle-"

"That course you wanna take is about five grand; I looked it up online. There's enough there for you to pay for it and find your own place too...if things don't work out here, you'll be able to find somewhere better."

"I can't take this," she argued. "I'm nobody to you."

"Don't you say that, honey. You mean a lot more to me than you think."

"This is too much."

"All I got to my name is money, and it don't mean shit to me, it's just paper that floats into my life the more I drive...but for you, it could mean so much."

"You're the last good man on Earth, Merle Dixon. I was so lucky just to meet you."

"I'm gonna come back and see you, OK?"

"Please do...I miss you already."

"This isn't it; we'll see each other again."

"I hope so. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Take care of yourself, honey. I'll see you soon."

He kissed her one last time and then she walked away. He could feel a strange severing inside that scared him; he should have known right then that he could never go through with leaving her.

/

Merle watched as she knocked on the door and was let inside by a middle-aged man with red hair just like hers used to be. She turned once to wave at him and then disappeared before his eyes into the house like an apparition leaving him wondering somehow if she had ever been real at all.

Merle drove away slowly, kicking himself all the way to the highway. He drove until daylight because that was all he knew how to do. When Merle didn't have the answers, he just kept moving. He put on some music to pass the time and hit play on a playlist she had made at the Devil's Tower. Her music was going to hurt, but somehow he liked the sting of missing her. It was new for him to miss anyone.

 

_**The Atlantic was born today, and I'll tell you how...** _

_**The clouds above opened up and let it out.** _

 

_**I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere** _

_**When the water filled every hole.** _

_**And thousands upon thousands made an ocean,** _

_**Making islands where no island should go.** _

_**Oh no.** _

 

_**Those people were overjoyed; they took to their boats.** _

_**I thought it less like a lake and more like a moat.** _

_**The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door** _

_**have been silenced forever more.** _

_**The distance is quite simply much too far for me to row** _

_**It seems farther than ever before** _

_**Oh no.** _

 

_**I need you so much closer** _

_**I need you so much closer** _

_**I need you so much closer** _

_**I need you so much closer...** _

 

The song was speaking right to him, right to the deepest parts of his heart and mind. Merle's eyes held steady on the road ahead, and he could feel her pulling him back, kissing his lips, whispering his name into his ear and he did something he hadn't done in years. Tears welled up in his eyes and the lights along the highway began to blur his vision through the unexpected salty drops.

He needed her so much closer...

"What the fuck did you just do?" he asked of himself and immediately began to scan the road for an exit.

 

Merle could see it so clearly then...nothing meant anything without her. Money held no value. Happiness wasn't possible. His future would be nothing but the burden of her memory weighing on his heart. No woman he ever touched would be her.

He knew then that he had to make her his own. He didn't care if it was insane. He would sell the truck or hire a driver to take over for him and be the boss instead. No matter what...he needed her in his life. Why hadn't it occurred to him sooner that he could just stop driving? He was the only one keeping himself trapped in that lifestyle; he could stop whenever the hell he wanted.

Merle needed sleep, but knew he'd never be able to rest with Robin on his mind anyway. This was a big moment for him, the biggest moment of his whole life; sleep could wait. He grabbed an energy drink at a gas station and blasted her music in his truck to stay awake all the way back to Huntsville.

Merle turned tail to go back for his girl. The road was endless monotony, and it felt like he was getting nowhere for hours until the last lights of the city came back into view at dawn. Merle stopped for a coffee and figured he should at least wait until 8 am to go and get her back. He had driven all night and couldn't wait to see her face again. Sure it was ridiculous that he didn't see it sooner, but he was correcting it fast, and he just hoped she'd understand.

/

Merle knocked on her father's door in the early morning hour, and the red-haired man answered. Maybe that red hair was the only good thing she ever got from him in all her life.

"Sorry to bother you so early," he smiled. "Is Robin here?"

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"A friend."

"Uh huh...she's in the basement."

"Oh."

"Go ahead," the man motioned toward the stairs like he couldn't care less.

Merle noticed two small children sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons and wondered why Robin was alone downstairs. He opened the door to the basement steps and began to descend the stairs. The basement was dark and unfinished, cold and damp with only cement walls and floors, and then an old couch came into view.

Robin was laying still on her side and staring at the wall; then she looked up to see him standing before her.

"Merle?"

"Honey...I made a huge mistake leaving you here. You don't belong here; you belong with me."

She smiled then, and he knew that racing back to Huntsville was the best decision he'd ever made.

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon," she said softly.

"I can't be without you. I got some ideas about what life could look like for us...you wanna come find a hotel room with me and talk it out?" he grinned.

"Yes."

"Grab your stuff and let's get you outta here. How dare they put my girl in a basement?" he huffed as he took her hand to lead her up the stairs.

They walked up the steps to the front door where her father only nodded his head with a simple, "You off again?"

"Yeah...goodbye."

"Be careful out there."

"I will be."

/

Merle took her to the nearest hotel and sat her down on the edge of a bed. He paced the floor, and she waited for him to speak, she could tell he had a lot to say.

"It's time for me to settle down, and it's gotta be with you."

"Yeah?" she smiled.

"I've been just storing my money away for years, and now I'm gonna spend it on us. I'm gonna buy us a little house, and you can go to school. I'm gonna take care of you, honey...I wanna be your man."

"Merle...I'll be good to you. I'll make you happy, I promise."

"You already have. Just pick where you wanna live, and we'll go there together and start our lives," he said and then knelt down at her feet to take her hands.

"Where does your brother live?" she asked as he lay his head in her lap like a tired child.

"Senoia, Georgia," he answered.

"If we lived there, you'd have your family close, and your niece could see you all the time."

"Yeah?" he grinned up at her. "Maybe we could work on a few cousins for her too?"

"I love you, Merle."

"I love you too, honey, so damn much."

Robin felt happiness welling up inside like she had never known and the look in his perfect blue eyes told her that everything was going to be OK. She would never be anyone's plaything again, she wouldn't be hungry and homeless again, but mostly she would have love.

"Where have you been all my life, Merle Dixon?"

"Here and there, honey. Where have you been?" he chuckled.

 


End file.
